Friday, 12 June 2015

Reliance Jio internet plans to cost Rs 300-500 a month

Reliance Industries (RIL) will start commercial operations
of its much-awaited telecom services in December, offering a 4G smartphone for
as low as Rs 4,000 and a monthly bill of Rs 300-500, its chairman Mukesh Ambani
said.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the firm's telecom arm, is testing
network with a 'beta launch' due over the next few months and commercial
operations around December.

Our plan is to provide the same power of computing,
communication and information to every individual, whether in towns or rural
areas, that the US president had 10-15 years ago. All this at about Rs 300-500
per month," he said during his over-an-hour long speech, a third of which
was devoted to Jio.

Looking to tap the surging voice and data demand, Ambani
said the 4G-enabled smartphone in India will be priced below Rs 4,000 by
December.

Ambani's re-entry into the telecom business nearly a decade
after Dhirubhai Ambani's Reliance empire was split and the communication
business went to younger sibling Anil, will include offering voice and
high-speed data services such as viewing HD television.

The company also plans to launch many software applications
for providing news and entertainment services to its telecom services users, he
added.

Targeting 100% national coverage within the next three
years, Ambani said Reliance Jio has applied for a pan-India cable television
multi-system operator (MSO) licence and plans to enter into broadcast TV
distribution.

Besides, it has partnered with the State Bank of India to
apply for a payments bank licence.